Malaysia has ordered Australian miner Lynas Corp. to ship out waste from its new rare earths plant following protests from environment groups and residents worried about radioactive residue.

Lynas began processing rare earths -- used in anything from missiles to mobile phones -- at the $800 million plant in eastern Pahang state last month after a delay of more than a year due to opposition over health fears.

But four cabinet ministers -- covering trade, science, natural resources and health -- said in a joint statement late Monday that a temporary licence granted to Lynas required it to remove "all the residue" from the plant out of Malaysia.

"The obligation imposed on Lynas in this matter is very clear. The government will not compromise the health and safety of the people and the environment in dealing with the issue of Lynas," they said.

If Lynas fails to comply, the government can suspend or revoke the licence and order it "to immediately cease operation", the ministers warned.

They said Lynas must ship out all residue, including products made from it.

The statement follows local media reports that quoted a top Lynas official in Malaysia as saying it would not remove the waste as it needed to abide by international conventions, which prohibit the export of hazardous wastes.

Lynas officials did not immediately return request for comment. The ministers in their statement said they were referring to "recent inaccurate media reports regarding the removal of the residue".

In November, Lynas cleared a final hurdle when a court gave the go-ahead for the company to fire up. Activists are challenging that court decision with a hearing scheduled for next week, but operations have started.

The Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) is set to become one of few sites outside China to process rare earths. The metals, imported from Australia, are used in high-tech equipment.

Residents, activists and opposition leaders have staged numerous protests against the plant, saying it would release radioactive gases and solid waste such as radium and lead, and small amounts of uranium, into the environment.

Lynas has insisted that any radioactive waste would be low-level and not harmful and that it will safely dispose of it.

Space-Age Ceramics Get Their Toughest TestBerkeley CA (SPX) Dec 11, 2012Advanced ceramic composites can withstand the ultrahigh operational temperatures projected for hypersonic jet and next generation gas turbine engines, but real-time analysis of the mechanical properties of these space-age materials at ultrahigh temperatures has been a challenge - until now.
Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkel ... read more

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency.
All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement